Reading. Each week I write for parents, teachers and teacher educators about the very basics of reading. I address the ultimate reason why as a culture we should spend so much time, energy, and money on it. Sadly, the ultimate goal I refer to is rarely uttered in school board meetings. It is seldom discussed by teachers, and […]
I recently read a fitness article that indicated that a few minutes of activity every hour or so for us sedentary desk-bound workers could accumulate into a sizeable boost in personal fitness over time. I submit that the same is true for the value of a few precious moments reading while waiting for the bus, or the dentist, […]
When a book is enthusiastically read, there is a clear flow of information from the author to the eager reader. She gets her own unique kind of delight from the book by making personal sense of the author’s words, text and illustrations, connecting it with what she already knew, understood or experienced. The enjoyment can […]
For elementary school children, there are basically just two kinds of books (if we ignore poetry), Fiction and Non-fiction. Fictional books present to the reader created characters living created lives, experiencing created joys while dealing with what are frequently universal human problems. NON-fictional books typically use lots of different visuals interspersed with carefully structured expositional […]
Very young children can’t be avid readers in the fullest sense of the term. They can be excited by books and about the closeness they feel when loved ones read with them. If they have had lots of experience with good books they can certainly be admirers of books and be drawn to open them […]
It’s March which means there’s much to celebrate! Like the spring equinox on the 20th, St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th and the beginning of the U.S. college men’s basketball showdown—March Madness—on the 14th (GO Cards!). March also provides an opportunity to celebrate reading, as it is Read Aloud Month. This recognition is promoted by Read Aloud […]
What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly […]
When I see strangers reading books in public places, I often startle them by inquiring about their book choices. I take their brief personal reviews into account when looking for my next read. As a result, I currently find myself in a book aimed at ages “9 to 12.” During lulls in our traditional holiday […]
I recently encountered an article indicating that school-age children rarely talk with their friends about what they are “free” reading, mostly because they don’t have time in their academic day. Wait! Really? That’s huge! This lost conversation represents a lost educational opportunity, seemingly sacrificed on the altar of what apparently passes for instructional efficiency! But […]
Read with your children. Talk about what you read. Relax and have fun. That simple model for guiding parents to bring the rich content and language of books fully, yet gently, into children’s lives is our mantra at Unite for Literacy. That’s one HOW of optimizing children’s cognitive potentials for success in school and beyond. This […]
